Loved stuff: Bad yet thrilling memories

Just watched a Michael Jackson tribute programme where they played his best videos – boy they were great tunes and the video spectacles that that he created were amazing.

To be honest I haven’t been a huge fan over the last decade and some of the ‘reported’ elements of his life were frankly a bit worrying - reported being the operative word. I have been the first person to be fascinated by his changing appearance and making quite frankly disparaging comments.

It is so terribly sad that he has died, especially as he was about to do the mega London concerts and was going to get the satisfaction of being back on top – where he clearly enjoyed being and with his talent for singing and performance he did deserve.

I am feeling a bit queasy about the whole thing: how the media is suddenly being so positive about the man – having torn him down so hard for such a long period. I am sure that more money will be made as a result of his death by the vultures who were doing very nicely on the money front on the drag down.

However as I said I took part in being fascinated by the man and fuelling the tear down. Yep, feeling a bit rubbish about it.

You just think that if he could have heard all this positive stuff being said now that it might have given him a boost that, let’s face it, all of us need from time to time.

All very sad – but listening and watching the videos on the box has brought back two childhood memories that I had totally forgotten and which have made me smile...

NUMBER ONE: I had the Thriller album on cassette tape – I was eight years old and I absolutely LOVED it. I played it so much that I stretched the tape. So now when I hear any of the songs from the album I actually think that they are being played a tiny bit too fast. I had a Thriller poster on my bedroom wall and Elaine (my little sister) and I used to act out the Thriller video morning after morning for months.

NUMBER TWO: I was 14 and the day that Bad came out my dad took me to town in the car and I stood in the queue before the record shop opened to be one of the first to get it. I had never done that before (or since). It was a big moment and I remember rushing home and playing that LP over and over again – it was the coolest thing ever.

All the ‘RIP MJ’ on Twitter seems on the surface a bit too much: overly media generated and desperate, but do you know what, he does deserve to rest in peace and he did inspire millions of people.